Today is my little brother’s birthday. Only now he’s not so little. He turns 23 today and he’s 6’2″! He was seriously the cutest kid ever with bright red hair and the cutest little voice. I have to go back and watch videos to see and remember that because he’s such a man now!

I’m getting my blogging act together enough to post about Weight Watchers Wednesday!

My weight fluctuates by the seasons. I’m always a little heavier in the warm months and I slim down in the cooler months. Some people are just the opposite. I like to exercise outdoors when the air is cooler. I take five mile walks with Boudreaux and eat light soup meals.

Exercise is definitely key for me. I find that if I’m exercising, I’m more motivated to watch what I’m eating. I don’t want all of that hard work to be for nothing. I can drop pounds, but still be “skinny fat.” I like the lean muscle and you have to get moving to achieve that.

In the winter months, I like to go to my spinning class twice a week. I’m able to get cardio and resistance doing that. It kicks my butt! Spinning causes you to sweat like you wouldn’t believe and I like to sweat when I work out. If you’re not ready to sweat then you probably need to reevaluate.

The other days of the week, I’ll take a long walk with Boudreaux and come inside for crunches and light weights with high reps. I like to use 3 and 5 pound weights. I can lift more than that comfortably, but I can’t go as long and won’t achieve the desired effect with higher weight.

I’ve attached a yummy taco soup recipe. It’s only 2 points which means you can eat a little more of it if you’re not full from the first serving! It always helps me when “seconds” are an option!

2 Point Taco Soup

1 large onion, diced
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
1 (11 ounce) canned corn with red and green peppers
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can low-fat or fat-free canned refried black beans
2 cans water (3 1/2 cups)
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 package ranch salad dressing mix (dry)

Saute onion with vegetable oil cooking spray. When softened, combine all other ingredients and cook until heated through.

Makes 9-10 cups. Serving size is 1 cup.

How have all of you done this week? Has the weather made a difference in your eating and exercise habits?

This blog is not supported nor endorsed by any part of the Weight Watchers Corporation. All point values are figured using the Weight Watchers eTools and are assumed to be as accurate as possible. Recipes that are labeled as “Core (WW)” may contain trace amounts of non-Core ingredients, but the point value per serving of those ingredients would figure to be .5 points or less in all cases.

I’m so sorry I haven’t been commenting as much as usual. Work has been especially busy with Homecoming approaching and pretty much an event every week.

I have completely abandoned my Google reader the past three days and I’m afraid to look at the total number of unread posts today. When I checked yesterday, there were 323 unread posts! If that’s not overwhelming I don’t know what is. As the days have progressed, I’ve just sort of checked the blogs of those that I have more personal relationships with and have treated the Google reader like the hall closet that everything gets thrown into. I can’t open it unless I’m ready to totally tackle it.

The surprising thing is that when I started this blog I was only reading about three blogs and may have had one non-family reader. I’ve really gotten invested in all of you and your stories and I’m always so anxious to see what you have to say!

Maybe I should just clean up my Google reader and eliminate some that I don’t really follow. I mentioned being overwhelmed by the DVR on Sunday and it only has about six shows stored up. Hopefully when work slows down I’ll be back in full force and ready to read what all of you have been up to. And hopefully I’ll have entertaining new stories to share.

Anyone else going through blog overload?

LyndsAU of All Things Fluffy, Fashionable, and Famous tagged me to list 11 of my favorite things. She used pictures with hers and I liked it, so I’ll do the same thing! 11 is my lucky number, so this will be fun!

Clothes:

Furniture:

City: (Chicago and San Francisco)

Sweets:

Drink:

Music:

TV Series:

Film:

Workout:

Pastries:

Coffee: